FITIS holds ICT vendors forum

Thursday, 10 April 2014 00:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Federation of IT Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), the apex body of the ICT Industry in Sri Lanka, recently held an ICT Vendors open forum for the benefit of their members in the hardware chapter. The forum discussed the many issues faced by the Hardware ICT Sector and the solutions that can be adopted to overcome these challenges. The panelists for the forum included M.C.M. Farook of the Telecom Regulatory Commission, Sanjeewani Kasthuriachchi of the Consumer Protection Authority, Thushara Suraweera of ICTA and M.G. Gunwardena of the Customs Import Division.

Addressing the gathering at the commencement of the forum, Chinthaka Wijewardena, President of the Hardware Chapter at FITIS stated that as the local governing body for ICT in Sri Lanka, FITIS had close collaborations with SLASSCOM, ICTA, CCSL and many other industry bodies to work for the betterment of the industry and its vendors. He added that the mission of today’s workshop was to discuss the many problems faced by Vendors in the ICT Hardware sector and based on the feedback received at the forum, that FITIS would be presenting a document outlining these requirements and their suggestions to assist the sector to the relevant authorities and ministries. M.C.M. Farook of the Telecom Regulatory Commission, in his address outlined the procedures relating to obtaining licenses of telecommunications products. He explained the legal procedures for obtaining vendor licenses, the frequency and the process of approvals and the type of equipment that required licenses. Sanjeevani Kasthuriachachi of the Consumer Protection Authority touched on the topic of the laws of protection that governed consumers and presented points on the steps a vendor can take to protect themselves from legal issues that could be brought upon them, as well as the services they should offer in terms of warranties. Thushara Suraweera of ICTA also explained to the audience government policies on hardware products and the laws, guidelines, specifications, as well as how to process and present the right kind of bidding documents for a tender. The final panellist addressing the forum was M.G. Gunwardena of the Import Division of Customs that educated the participants on Exchange Control Uses, Regulation of VAT Numbers, proper methodologies in submitting of Customs Documents and Licensing and TRC issues. The mission of FITIS in conducting these forums is to assist and address the ICT vendor community and to help determine business decisions for their respective companies.